Judge Says Georgia’s Gay Marriage Ban Can’t Be Enforced

A federal judge in Georgia has ruled that the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage cannot be enforced.

The ruling is effectively a formality. State probate courts have been issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples since a June 26 U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

Georgia’s constitution prohibits same-sex marriage and says the state will recognize only the union of a man and a woman as marriage and that same-sex marriages performed in others states are not legally recognized.